1. Growing plants in space (tests overseen by the institute of plant physiology and ecology at the Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences)

In the movie The Martian, astronaut Mark Watney survives on the red planet by growing potatoes. In reality, growing plants in space is much harder to do. Scientists have built a mini "greenhouse" on Tiangong II that features controlled temperatures and light, and they hope to cultivate rice and mouse-ear cress during the voyage.

"China will conduct its first seed-to-seed experiment in space through Tiangong II," Zheng Huiqiong, a science professor at the institute, told China Central Television.